| Course | GB533 Salesforce Management |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 4 |
| Paper type | Territory design plan |
| Length | About 900 words, 6 pages double-spaced |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Purdue University Global |
| Program | MBA |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for GB533 Unit 4
From a Three-to-One Spread to Fifteen Balanced Territories: A Unit 4 Territory Design Plan
[Student Name]
Purdue University Global
GB533: Salesforce Management
Unit 4 Territory Design Plan
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
The distributor, its territories and every figure are composite and illustrative; the methods and sources cited are real.
Estimating Potential
Potential is estimated county by county across the Carolinas service area. Each county's number of practicing general and specialty dentists is multiplied by an assumed $45,000 of supply and small-equipment purchases per dentist a year, a figure based on industry spending surveys and Palmetto Dental Supply's own sales to its best-penetrated practices. The region's 2,560 dentists give total potential of about $115.2 million a year.
The estimate is a common basis for comparison, not a forecast. Some dentists buy far more, some far less, and specialty practices differ. But using the same method everywhere lets territories be compared fairly.
Table 1: The Current Twelve Territories
The current territories were drawn years ago around where representatives lived and which practices they already knew. Their potential ranges from about $5.3 million in the Florence territory to about $15.8 million in Raleigh. Workload, measured as the calls each territory's accounts require, ranges from about 820 to about 1,650 calls a year, against a realistic capacity of about 1,092 per representative.
The spread has three consequences. The Raleigh representative cannot cover the territory, so B practices and prospects there are neglected. The Florence representative has time to spare but little potential to pursue. And a uniform quota increase is easy to meet in one and nearly impossible in the other.
A quota that ignores potential rewards the representative who was handed the best territory and penalizes the one who was not, whatever either of them does.
Design Principles
Talley (1961) proposed building territories from small geographic units so that each has a similar workload. Zoltners et al. (2004) add that territories should be balanced on both workload and potential, should keep travel reasonable and should disrupt existing customer relationships as little as possible. The plan applies four rules:
Potential within about 15 percent of the average, about $7.7 million for fifteen territories.
Workload within about 10 percent of one representative's capacity.
Counties kept whole, so that each county has one representative.
Existing relationships preserved where possible, with at least 60 percent of each representative's current A practices kept in the new territory.
Table 2: The New Fifteen Territories
The new territories range in potential from about $6.9 million to about $8.6 million and in workload from about 1,010 to about 1,170 calls. The Raleigh area becomes three territories: north Raleigh and Wake Forest, south Raleigh and Cary, and the Durham and Chapel Hill corridor. The Florence territory absorbs adjacent counties to reach about $6.9 million. Charlotte splits into two. Rural territories in the west and east cover more counties but similar potential, with call rates adjusted for travel.
Handling the Representatives Who Lose the Most
Two representatives lose the largest share of their current accounts: the Raleigh representative, whose territory becomes three, and the Charlotte representative, whose territory becomes two. Both currently earn well above target because their territories are so large. The plan addresses their loss directly. Each keeps the A practices they have served longest, chooses which of the new territories to take, and receives the holdover credit on transferred accounts. Their new quotas will be lower in dollars but fairer as a share of potential, and the compensation plan in Unit 5 rewards growth against potential, so a representative who builds a smaller territory well can earn as much as before. Telling them first, in person, before the announcement to the whole team, is part of the plan.
The Map
The map shows the fifteen territories in distinct shades, with county lines, representative home bases and the locations of the 190 A practices. Each territory label shows its potential and workload.
Transition Schedule
Month 1: announce the new territories and the reasons, with each representative's new map and account list; hold one-on-one meetings to discuss changes.
Months 2 and 3: joint calls on every A practice that changes hands, with the outgoing and incoming representatives together.
Month 3: new quotas set as a share of each territory's potential, so that quotas reflect opportunity rather than history.
Months 1 to 6: holdover credit, under which a representative who loses an account keeps half the incentive on its sales for two quarters.
Month 4: two new representatives start in the north Raleigh and Charlotte east territories; the third starts in the following year.
Protecting Customers
Practices that change representatives receive a letter introducing the new person, a joint visit for A practices and a direct number for the inside sales team in case of gaps. Johnston and Marshall (2016) note that territory changes are a major cause of customer attrition when handled abruptly, which is why the transition is phased.
Expected Effects
Balanced territories should restore planned call frequencies to B practices in the former Raleigh and Charlotte territories and give every representative a comparable chance to meet quota. The plan should be reviewed after a year by comparing sales growth and call coverage across territories.
Limits
Dentist counts change as practices open, merge and join dental organizations. The $45,000 assumption may understate potential in areas with many specialty practices. Territories should be rebalanced every two to three years.
References
Johnston, M. W., & Marshall, G. W. (2016). Sales force management: Leadership, innovation, technology (12th ed.). Routledge.
Talley, W. J. (1961). How to design sales territories. Journal of Marketing, 25(3), 7-13. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224296102500302
Zoltners, A. A., Sinha, P., & Lorimer, S. E. (2004). Sales force design for strategic advantage. Palgrave Macmillan.
GB533 Unit 4 instructions, in plain terms
GB533 Unit 4 asks you to design sales territories. Estimate potential for small geographic units on a common basis and explain the assumption behind it. Describe the current territories' potential and workload and the problems their imbalance causes. State design principles, such as balance ranges for potential and workload, whole units and preserved relationships. Present the new territories with their potential and workload, and describe the map. Plan the transition, including account handoffs, quota resets, any credit protection for representatives and communication with customers. Address the representatives who lose the most. Close with expected effects and limits. Expect about eight pages with a map, two tables and a transition schedule, citing territory design sources in APA 7.
How this GB533 Unit 4 example is built
Potential is built county by county from dentist counts. Table 1 shows the current territories' range of potential and workload and three consequences of the spread, and the highlighted sentence states the quota unfairness. Four design principles cite Talley and Zoltners, Sinha and Lorimer. Table 2 summarizes the fifteen new territories, splitting Raleigh into three and Charlotte into two. A section explains how the two representatives losing the most are treated. The map is described. The transition runs from announcement and joint calls to potential-based quotas and a two-quarter holdover, and a customer section cites Johnston and Marshall on attrition during territory changes. Effects and limits close it.
GB533 Unit 4 rubric: what earns full points
Instructors grading GB533 territory work look for potential and workload balanced together and a transition planned as carefully as the map. Estimating potential on a common basis earns early credit. Showing the current imbalance and its consequences establishes the case. Design principles with numeric ranges carry significant weight. New territories reported with potential and workload show the principles applied. A transition with joint calls, quota resets and holdover credit shows care for people. Addressing the representatives who lose the most shows judgment. Protecting customers completes it. Talley, Zoltners and colleagues, and Johnston and Marshall support the plan in APA 7, each tied to a specific principle or transition step rather than cited in passing.
GB533 Unit 4 help from the desk
Many GB533 Unit 4 plans redraw boundaries on a map and stop, without saying how accounts change hands or how quotas change. Others balance potential but leave workload uneven, which creates a different unfairness. A frequent gap is the people: representatives who lose large territories also lose income and status, and the plan should address them directly. Some writers ignore customers during the change. Estimate potential, show the current imbalance, set principles, build balanced territories, describe the map, plan the transition with protections, handle the biggest losers and protect customers. Telling the most affected representatives first, in person, is a small step that prevents a large problem.
Get a GB533 Unit 4 example written to your instructions
Territory work starts from the region and accounts your GB533 case describes, so share those, along with any potential data given and the Unit 4 prompt and rubric. Balanced on potential and workload together, with a transition rule for moved accounts, a custom plan is returned within 24-48h, free as a first sample. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Purdue University Global document.
More GB533 papers and MBA samples
- GB533 Unit 1: Discussion Board Post
- GB533 Unit 2: Sales Force Structure Analysis
- GB533 Unit 3: Workload Sizing Model
- GB533 Unit 5: Compensation Plan Proposal
- GB533 Unit 6: Seminar Reflection
- GB533 Unit 7: Sales Training Outline
- GB533 Unit 8: Performance Evaluation Memo
- GB533 Unit 9: Pipeline Forecast
- GB533 Unit 10: Sales Management Report
- GB532 Unit 4: Research Proposal
- GB531 Unit 4: Audience Profile
- GB530 Unit 4: Segmentation and Targeting Analysis
- GB528 Unit 4: Entry Mode Comparison
GB533 Unit 4 questions, answered
How do I estimate territory potential without company data?
Use a published count of likely buyers by area, such as businesses, households or professionals from census or licensing data, multiplied by an estimated purchase per buyer. State the multiplier and where it came from. Industry reports sometimes publish spending per establishment. A labeled estimate with a clear method is generally accepted in GB533, while an unexplained figure is not.
Should territories be balanced on potential or workload?
Ideally both, since each alone produces a different unfairness. Potential governs what a representative can sell; workload governs how hard it is to cover. Many plans balance potential first, then adjust boundaries until workload falls within an acceptable range, and report the remaining gaps. Say which you prioritized and why.
How detailed does the territory map need to be?
Clear enough to show boundaries and the units they are built from, usually counties or ZIP codes. A simple shaded map with a table of potential, accounts and workload per territory is typical. Mapping software is not required; a labeled sketch or a free online tool is usually acceptable if the table does the analytical work.
Where can I find a free GB533 Unit 4 sample paper?
This page carries a full GB533 Unit 4 territory design plan for a dental distributor, with county-level potential, current and new territories, design principles, a transition schedule and APA 7 references.
What is holdover credit?
It lets a representative who loses an account in the redesign keep half the incentive on that account's sales for two quarters, which reduces the income shock of the change and encourages a cooperative handoff.